Chillicothe school stands by selection of war book

Friday

Sep 26, 2008 at 12:01 AMSep 26, 2008 at 1:48 AM

A required reading assignment of a book that contains graphic descriptions of war violence and atrocities in an eighth-grade English course has at least one father troubled by what the school considers age-appropriate literature.

Scott Hilyard

A required reading assignment of a book that contains graphic descriptions of war violence and atrocities in an eighth-grade English course has at least one father troubled by what the school considers age-appropriate literature.

"Where's 'Huckleberry Finn?' Where's 'To Kill a Mockingbird?' Where's 'The Red Badge of Courage?' What's wrong with those books? There is an abundance of books that show respect," said the father, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal in school against his daughter. "This book they are reading is so gory, so graphic it is completely unsuitable for an elementary school."

The book, "A Long Way Gone," by Ishmael Beah, is the memoir of a child forced to fight in a civil war in the African country of Sierra Leone in the 1990s. It includes intensely powerful and unflinching passages of the horrific acts of the brutality and inhumanity he witnessed and participated in as a teenage, drug-addicted soldier. It is being taught for the second year to eighth-grade Lit students at Chillicothe Elementary Center.

The book received near unanimous praise and positive reviews when it was published in 2007. It was a longtime New York Times best-seller, became an international phenomenon and made Beah, who is now 26, a literary celebrity.

Now it's making a Chillicothe parent angry.

"I've lost my faith and trust of the school system if they think this book is suitable for 13-year-olds," the father said. "I'm aware that my child is smart enough and knows about sex and stuff like that, but my problem is the perversion. She's never even contemplated (some of the acts depicted in the book). It's that twisted perversion that I'm against, and that is throughout the book."

Principal Dianne Pointer, who read and was deeply moved by the book before it became a sensation and before it was assigned to students in her school, stood firmly behind the selection Thursday. She said staff members weighed the benefits of the book to students against the inarguably potent images of war and human suffering. They decided that not only could the students handle the material, it would be a memorable reading experience.

"We're always looking for material that is more relevant, more current than traditional English Lit material. We thought students would benefit from this book and take them out of their insular world of iPods and cell phones and show that there are people living lives in this world very different from their lives in Chillicothe, Illinois. The boy in the book is the same age as the students, and the events he describes really happened. That has a deep impact."

A note to opt out of the assignment was sent home last week. All but one of about 80 permission notes were returned, and Pointer said she believed the one that wasn't returned was not because parents of the child objected to the book. No one, and that includes the man who called the Journal Star with his objections about "A Long Way Gone," has complained to the teachers or the principal. He said other issues he has with the school would not allow him to complain to teachers or school officials.

"I'm on fire, burning up with this," he said. "Nobody else wants to walk out front and do anything about this."

The note home encouraged parents to read along and described the book as a powerful account of war, but did not emphasize the graphic nature of certain passages. It did make note of the book's single profanity and said the word had been blacked out in all of the students' copies.

"This book describes genitalia being cut off with machetes, kids sniffing cocaine, burnt human flesh, mangled bodies and brain matter coming out of noses and ears," the father said. "And they're more worried about a single profanity?"

Pointer acknowledged the intensity of the violence in the book but said it was not gratuitous and that the messages of courage, sacrifice and hope made it a book of value to her students.

"It doesn't glorify war and violence," she said. "Just the opposite. It shows how horrible it can be."

Scott Hilyard can be reached at (309) 686-3244 or at shilyard@pjstar.com.

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